Council Candidate Oberman Proposes Penalties For Those Who Fail To Evacuate During A Hurricane

It’s no small secret that a large amount, perhaps even the majority, of Brooklynites living in Zone A failed to heed the city’s call for a mandatory evacuation during Superstorm Sandy. Some felt the storm would not be as devastating as it proved to be, and reflected on the city’s pointless mandatory evacuation during Hurricane Irene the previous year. The failure to evacuate left many in terror as the waters crashed through the streets, and some, including Manhattan Beach resident Cy Schoenfeld, perished when they could not escape the flood.

City Council candidate Igor Oberman told Sheepshead Bites that mandatory evacuations must truly be mandatory if authorities aim to keep residents safe, and is proposing repercussions for those residents who refuse to leave ahead of future storms.

“If you’re going to say it’s a mandatory evacuation, it’s mandatory,” Oberman said of the evacuation orders. “A rule has to have a kind of duel sided charge, that if you don’t follow something ithis is what happens to you. Otherwise, it’s not a rule.”

In advance of Superstorm Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Office of Emergency Management issued a mandatory evacuation order. However, the mayor made clear that the city would not force people from their homes, instead warning residents that they would be cut off from emergency services during the most perilous hours of the storm – a promise that was kept as police and firefighters largely stayed out of Zone A until the water receded.

But Oberman, who is running to replace term-limited Councilman Michael Nelson, who himself failed to evacuate during the storm, said that’s not good enough, and the city ought to do more. He suggests a series of penalties if one fails to vacate.

“I think there’s a little bit of wordplay that people try to do. It’s mandatory only if you want help, that’s the wordplay they’re trying to pull,” he said. “But if you have a mandatory evacuation you have to ensure the citizens who you’re charged to protect have a way out of the area.”

To motivate homeowners to abandon their property, Oberman said that benefits from the city government and insurance companies ought to be slashed for those who stay home and put both themselves and emergency workers in danger.

“It has to be that if they don’t leave the area, if you don’t follow the rule of law, there has to be a repercussion in terms of being first in line for the benefits of city aid and insurance companies. There has to be prioritization of those who followed the instructions and those that ignored them.”

To do that, he suggested bumping those who failed to comply to the end of the line for benefits like Rapid Repairs, and even a reduced reimbursement from the private insurance companies. He also suggests a reduced deductible from the insurance companies for those who do evacuate.

“There’s got to be a way to say you’ve got to leave, and the repercussions have to be more so. Because if not, it’s not just the loss of property, it’s the loss of lives,” he said.

In addition to the forced evacuation proposal, Oberman’s campaign last week released a short plan for recovery and future storm preparation, which he said is derived from the lessons he learned as president of Trump Village 4, the 4,000-person complex he helped see through Superstorm Sandy.

Oberman’s ideas include a slew of proposals already in the works, although he said he’d like to see them done better and faster. They include the immediate relocation of residents affected by the storm, as FEMA attempted to do. He also suggested the city create a dedicated disaster fund and a stockpile of food and water. Additionally, he wants building codes reformed for structures within a mile of the shoreline, something the Department of City Planning is already working on, and to expedite the discovery and repair of sinkholes before they become larger problems.

Oberman also blasted the current elected officials, saying they need to be more vocal about storm readiness, having apparently put it in their rear-view mirror.

“One of the important things I don’t see any elected discussing is that we’re heading into the next hurricane season, and there’s been nothing done since the last one,” he said.

He added that discussions about infrastructure issues like sewer line improvements are great for long-term planning, but little has been done since Sandy to prepare us for this year’s season – which began in June – and more of the short-term preparations like food and water stockpiling ought to be underway.

“Everyone’s talking about infrastructure, sewers, that kind of thing that’s not going to happen before the next hurricane. So I want everyone to look at where we are, what we’ve done and what can we do for the next one,” he said.

At Trump Village, Oberman said he and his board have implemented a number of improvements to prepare for the next storm, and hopes to see other large residential complexes adopt the ideas.

“I’m confident that we’ve learned our lesson and we’re much more prepared than any other building in New York City. We’re the only complex in New York City that has a satellite phone,” he said, noting that he bought the device because cell phone carriers were too slow to restore lost signals, and the building needed communication to reach out to city agencies and connect residents with their concerned families.

He also said they’re installing solar panels on the roof to energize their water and sewage system – which need electricity to reach the upper floors – in the case of another long-term power outage. They’ve added a waterproof shell around their boiler room as well, and are creating their own stockpile of food, batteries, water and a small generator on an upper-level that won’t be lost to flooding.

He said buildings like his, as well as regular homeowners, should seek to make similar preparations because without legislative changes, the city is likely to repeat what he says was a slow, cumbersome response to Sandy. Asked about the latest proposals from the mayor’s office for improving storm preparation, Oberman was dismissive.

“I’m very happy they brought in 230 generators, [according to a report the mayor issued in May.]That’s a response? And they didn’t come in right away,” he said. “The Office of Emergency Management means when there’s an emergency, manage it. Right after the emergency, not three weeks or a month.”

There are as many reasons not to evacuate as there are homes in our neighborhood. Look at the distress in New Orleands when Katrina victims refused to abandon their pets or had no cars or could not leave because of age and infirmaty. Up until after Katrina,, King Bloomberg would not let us take our pets to a evacuation sheldter, and his advice was leave food and a bowl of water for puppy or kitty. After seeing how many people would rather die in New Orleans than abadnodn their pets, King Bloomberg changed the rules for NYC shelters. At least he got this one correct.

Murry

Michael Nelson did not evacuate.

Hoodedmedusa

Mandatory is mandatory!!
If its not safe to be in a certain place at a certain time then you have to get the f* out. Why thousands of taxpayers money need to be spent because your as* didn’t wanna leave the house and now you need to be rescued?

applegreen

Oh yeah, thats going to fly.

molon labe

For a looter, I think this idea is wonderful. It was great that the normally useless 61 were totally kept out of the disaster areas gave looters no reason to fear getting arrested. But, the heavily armed home owners who remained behind with their apparently “legal” AK47s did make a looter or two fear for their lives and in a couple of unreported cases lose them. Make looting easier, put this idea into effect now!

anony

heard shot gun the night of sandy, a woman screaming. a van full of men stuck in water tried to break into a home for help… was chased away by retired military officer with a gun. good for him. wtf.

bagels

What a ridiculous notion – that my insurance company would slash my reimbursement because I chose to stay home or that they would reward me with a reduced deductible if I left. Who’s supposed to monitor who followed the rules and who did not?

molon labe

The LOOTERS! OF COURSE…

Anonymous

I still wouldn’t evacuate.

Fuck you Oberman you fat fucking sack of shit. Go fuck yourself. I hope you die in a fucking pit you worthless pig.
Hypocritical shit fuck.

What a retarded suggestion.
If anything, Con Edison should be penalized for leaving my area without power for 2 fucking weeks.

Supporter of LeftHand Rule

Anon’s ugly and boorish language not withstanding, he is correct. If we elect people from authoritarian nations we will get a house full of Stalins and Khruschevs. Candidates like Oberman have no intellectual beliefs rooted in representative democracy but likes the Putin-style iron rod.

Oberman’s punitive solution is wrong-headed. My 94 year old mother lives in the evacuation zone. She suffers from Alzheimer’s disease requires 24-hour home care. I live in the same area. Where is she supposed to evacuate to? She lives in a high rise where heat, hot water and electricity were restored within 24 hours after Superstorm Sandy. She was safer at home than anywhere else. Oberman’s solution would penalize her for being aged and for having a fatal disease. His mean-spirited approach disqualifies him from holding elected office.

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Tuth

The Co-op buildings that have boards lead by Russia-raised presidents are basically Soviet Union republics. The presidents are used to dealing with an aging Russian population who do not have a full grasp of the American legal system and are scared of anyone they perceive as having official authority. At this point the president of the board gets conditioned that this is the way things are supposed to be and gets drunk on power leading him to make outlandish claims such as the one write in the article.

PayPaul

Oberman should evacuate the borough for good! Leave Igor! We don’t want your kind around here!!

Eduard

I agree with you… Unfortunately, he will not…Corruption, kickbacks and other easy money keep him here. He is a virus and spread too fast.

Eduard

Igor Oberman did not evacuate himself! That is true! He was moving around with his flashlight due to his “special” relationship with Trump Village Shareholders. He is just afraid of them! While not officially elected he refuses from leaving the Board, but naive Shareholders want to enforce the By-Laws and kick him out. Political speculators like him, love to talk about rules while breaking them on their own. Rules are not for THEM, but only for US, for fools.

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